Breakdown
by coldfiredragon
Summary: Oliver Queen's death left a lot of people hurting. Story details Roy's private breakdown after the funeral. Inspired by art panels from issue 16 of Green Arrow.


**ANs: This story takes place following Ollie's funeral. It was inspired by the scene in Green Arrow #16 when Ollie is looking at the pictures of his funeral that Clark gave him when they visited Ollie's grave. **

**Disclaimer:I don't own Green Arrow or any of the characters in the comic and will make no money from publishing this fic. **

**Please review

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Dick Grayson sighed as he walked down the hallway towards his apartment. The last week had been like a living hell for most of the superhero community. One of their best was gone for good, in an explosion over Metropolis. When he had first been told the news he hadn't believed it, no he couldn't believe that Oliver Queen, AKA Green Arrow was dead.

In that week's time he had been forced to come to grips with the tragedy and attend not one but two funerals for the man. The first had been the public funeral. It was nothing more than a giant costumed stage play. No body had been buried during that funeral but they had been forced to give the public the chance to mourn and they had to give the cameras their chance to flash.

The real funeral had occurred two days ago. There had been no crowds of people and almost no cameras. The few photos that had been taken had been bought by The Daily Planet out of respect and would never see print. It had been disturbing to see them all there. Ollie's friends, his family, the ones he loved and cared for most. They had all been there and they had all been out of costume. Just men and women in suits and dark dresses who were paying their final respects as one of their own was lowered into the ground.

Dinah Lance had made most of the arrangements for that funeral. She had known Oliver Queen best, both as a lover and a trusted friend, even when Ollie's less than respectable ways pushed them apart. She had been inconsolable as they lowered the man she loved into the ground. She hadn't been alone though, dozens of others had mourned just as hard but in private rather than in public. Luckily she had had people there at the funeral to hold her as her tears spilled down her cheeks.

Holding her had been left to Roy. None of them had dared take his place in that respect because it was where he had needed to be. He had needed to be the one holding her because if it had been any other man other than Oliver Queen, in any other circumstance, then Roy would have been holding his mother as he watched his father being lowered into the ground.

That was the kind of relationship the three of them had had even if years of bad blood had stained their relationship. Roy had been Ollie's son and Dinah had been Roy's mother. They had been there for each other through the worst. Dinah loves Roy more than words can describe and it was only fitting that he should be the one to be strong for her when she was at her weakest.

Roy had held her through the whole funeral, looking miserable as he watched but not allowing a single tear to fall during the service because he had to be strong for Dinah. Now it is just a process of waiting for the other shoe to drop. Roy would snap under the pressure of being forced to be there while everyone else cried and he was not allowed to because he has to be strong. That was why Dick, Donna, and Wally had been at the funeral. The three of them had known Ollie, everyone had known Ollie, but they knew Roy better and they had known that Roy had needed them there.

Dick finally reached his apartment and inserted the key into the lock. It turned easily and he walked into the apartment. As he did so he realized that something wasn't right. His senses told him that something was off. He stood silhouetted in the doorway as he waited for an attack that would not come. Instead he heard Roy's quiet voice.

"You can come in you know." It was not the normal sarcastic tone that Dick was used to hearing and he felt worry pool in his stomach. The other shoe had obviously dropped and Roy was sitting in his apartment. He walked inside and pulled the door closed behind him, making sure to lock it before he walked over and took a seat across from the fire-haired archer.

Roy wasn't making eye contact with him and Dick knew that when Roy wouldn't make eye contact that it was bad. He was going to start questioning his best friend but Roy beat him to it.

"Did I ever tell you that I kept a dose of heroin under the floorboard in my apartment?" Dick's eyes widened involuntarily despite his years of training to prevent such surprise from showing. His mind was reeling and he barely heard Roy as he continued to speak.

"I kept it because I needed the reminder that I had beaten it. I knew that resisting the constant temptation made my will to stay away from the stuff stronger." He paused and Dick felt his pulse slowing slightly. He needed to hear what Roy had to say before he flipped out.

"When I got home from the funeral the other night I actually pulled it out. I was so sick of playing the hero for everyone else but I knew Dinah needed me. She needed me so I did everything I could to be strong for her so she didn't have to pretend to be strong for me." Dick could see the beginnings of tears as they formed in Roy's eyes.

"I just wanted to escape from it all for a little while. I didn't want to feel anything."

"Roy you didn't did you?" The archer shook his head furiously and Dick realized that Roy wasn't lying to him.

"I wanted to so badly but I didn't. I had to remind myself that it wouldn't solve anything." Roy looked up and Dick could see the tears that had already escaped his friend's eyes as their gazes met.

"I don't know how much longer I can keep telling myself that." Dick stood and walked over to the couch where he sat down beside Roy. He pulled Roy against him and ran his fingers through the his friend's hair. It was meant to be a soothing gesture.

"You don't have to worry about it because I'm not going to let you find out and neither are Donna and Wally. We know where you have been and we aren't letting you go back." He could feel Roy nod against his shoulder even as his best friend continued to sob. Dick reached down and removed his cell phone from his jacket pocket. He pressed one of the speed dial buttons and waited as the call dialed. The line on the other end rang a couple of times before he heard Donna's voice on the other end.

"Donna it's Dick... Yeah... Bring Wally when you come okay?... No,... no rush, I've got him and he's not going anywhere."

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**Thanks for reading, please review and let me know what you think**


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